By Guest Blogger on October 26, 2010
So you’re vegan and gluten-free? No wheat? No meat? What to eat? Well, a lot actually.
Instead of Bread
-Starchy vegetables can take the edge off of bread cravings. Try a baked sweet potato with a drizzle of coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of nutritional yeast flakes.
-Most gluten-free breads actually contain eggs. I recommend making your own. I’ve tried a few gluten-free flours on the market, and I like Perfectly Elizabeth’s muffin mixes. To replace eggs, use a few tablespoons of well-soaked flax seeds.
-Ethiopian restaurants are known for delicious spongy bread called “injera,” which is made out of teff (and no dairy). I recommend that you call ahead to confirm the ingredients used, as some restaurants will combine teff and wheat flour to appease American tastes.
-Try your own panini (grilled sandwich) with two big slices of grilled eggplant.
-There are many good tasting gluten-free tortillas. Even mainstream markets have authentic corn flour based ones, but I also like to use big lettuce or red cabbage leaves to make nutrient dense wraps.
Pasta Schmasta
-Of course there are lots of non-wheat pastas in any shape imaginable. Many Asian marts carry noodles made of out of sea vegetables like kelp; Sea Tangle Noodle Company is one brand. Shirataki makes noodles out of tofu; talk about high protein!
-If you have a Saladacco spiral slicer you can make lovely raw noodles out of zucchini and if you don’t, just slice your zucchini very, very thin.
-Nature’s own “bisgetti” is from the autumnal spaghetti squash; just roast and top with your favorite marina sauce.
Ugh, the Protein Question!
Where do you get your protein? You will have to avoid seitan (wheat gluten), which does have a lot of protein, but you have a plethora of foods to chose from: tofu, tempeh, sea vegetables, quinoa, nuts, seeds, lentils and dark green veggies. Athletes can add soy, hemp or pea protein powders to smoothies and shakes.
Don’t Forget Dessert
-Raw food desserts are perfect for gluten-free vegans. If you don’t have a raw food restaurant near you, I highly recommend Jenny Cornbleet’s book, “Raw for Dessert.” Cornbleet is a master at making raw food easy for everyone.
-Turtle Mountain’s So Delicious coconut milk based products are some of the best tasting vegan and gluten-free ice creams and treats on the market.
-Sorbet is a vegan, frozen fruit dessert that is often made with a sweetener and fruit puree. Sorbet should not be confused with sherbet, which actually contains dairy.
-Mochi is a macrobiotic treat made from whole grain brown rice and can usually be bought in perforated sheets, so you can just tear, bake and eat. It’s kind of like an edible craft project. Mochi is crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. These work for breakfast too with jelly or tahini smeared on them.
When shopping it is important to know what to avoid:
Ingredients that indicate the presence of wheat: modified food starch, gelatinized starch, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, soy sauce, vegetable gum, vegetable starch and my personal favorite “natural” flavorings.
I hate to repeat the obvious, but some are not obvious. Foods that often contain wheat are: most breads, cakes, pastries, cookies, bread crumbs, pasta, couscous, cereals, kamut, crackers, enriched flour, bran, bran germ, malt, starch, gluten, semolina, bulgur, vital gluten, durum, graham flour, whole wheat flour, spelt, cracker meal and farina.
Foods and terms that indicate the presence of milk: artificial butter flavor, butter, butter fat, buttermilk, casein, cottage cheese, cheese cream, ghee, caseinates, curds, custard, half and half, rennet casein, lactose, lactulose, lactoferrin, lactalbumin, lactalbumin phosphate, nougat, pudding, yogurt, whey, sour cream, caramel candies, chocolate, high protein flour, non-dairy products, lactic acid starter culture and flavorings (artificial or natural).
Foods and terms that indicate the presence of eggs: albumin (also spelled albumen), mayonnaise, eggnog, lysozyme, surimi, meringue, lecithin, macaroni, marzipan, nougat, marshmallows, flavorings (artificial or natural) and many types of pasta.
Also, avoid shopping out of bins. Even though buying nuts, seeds, legumes and spices from bins are an economical choice, you do increase the risk of cross contamination.
The Food Allergy Research and Resource Program recommends avoiding both Dairy- Free and Non-Dairy products since it is unclear what percentage of lactose is legally allowed in these products. Changing these regulations would apparently be a tedious process. If you are allergic to dairy, the safest bet is to go on a package-free whole foods diet.
Lastly, a few words about eating out and being social: I would avoid Italian unless you really like plain salads with oil and vinegar dressings. Indian food might also seem like a great option, but even most Indian vegetarian restaurants use lots of dairy. Diners are another no-no. There is just too much you can’t eat, so why torture yourself? You might get away with a meat- and cheese-free bowl of chili, but also consider that the risk of cross-contamination is pretty great.
It’s also important to be social. Invite your fellow gluten-free vegans to a potluck. Hosting dinners is another way to not only “eat safe,” but also educate others on how delicious your diet truly is. I’m afraid if they don’t like raw vegan chocolate cheesecake, they may be beyond our help!
Patricia Biesen is a blogger for ChicagoNow. She writes Eclectic Eating Chicago, which is a blog that helps readers with food allergies or specialty diets find delicious alternatives. She is also a Protect Allergic Children consultant with the Eat, Live, Learn Foundation. She is currently enrolled in the distance-learning program at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.
Photo Credit: Alexis O’Toole
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By Stefanie Sacks on March 30, 2010
Photo Credit: Eric Striffler Photography
My 4½-year-old son Jack has been complaining about his tummy hurting for some time now—about six months. At first I didn’t think much of it. We have a pooping family, and as I’ve come to realize, “my tummy hurts” for a 4½-year-old can be mistaken for hunger, eating too much, or needing to pee. Instead of being overly cautious (I definitely have neurotic tendencies), I watched for about six months. I might add that we are talking about a kid who has an above average healthy diet so I felt fairly okay with my choice. But once I started noticing soft, red-gray circles under Jack’s eyes, I knew I had to put on my detective’s hat!
Clue One: gas, frequent bowel movements
Clue Two: soft, red-gray circles under eyes
In instances like this, conventional medicine typically prescribes unnecessary poking and pills as the first course of action. But for me, it was clear that dietary action was a must! It was the only thing I could control. I wanted to tap into my resources before taking him to the doctor. I must say that I had a brief moment of panic realizing that there was probably a problem, albeit a manageable one, with my kid’s diet (or possibly something else). He’s my baby, he’s got the tummy blues, and I want to make it better… NOW!
The first step to solving the tummy blues was identifying the symptoms. Once identified, I created an elimination game plan. If necessary, seek immediate assistance from an integrative doctor (who will typically look at dietary change as the first course of action) or qualified nutritionist (another very wise choice). If I were not a culinary nutritionist, I would have done just that!
My elimination game plan:
1. Identify the possible culprit(s).
2. Explain to my child what’s going on and what I plan to do.
3. Remove the culprit(s) from the diet for 2-3 weeks.
4. Rebuild the gut with Aloe vera juice and probiotics (both healing and restorative) making sure to confirm supplemental gut support with a healthcare provider (in my case, a close colleague—and registered dietitian—who specializes in supplementation).
5. Keep a diary noting symptoms or hopefully lack thereof.
6. At the end of the removal period, add the culprit back into the diet and watch for the return of symptoms. If present, avoid that food. If not (and no other culprits are suspected), seek further advice from a healthcare provider. If more than one culprit exists, add one at a time (over a three-day period) and watch for symptoms. If none exist, start with next item (noting that first item is safe to eat). If symptoms do exist, remove the item again from the diet, wait five days, then add the next culprit. Repeat as necessary.
I decided that wheat was my culprit (although I keep a fairly gluten-free home, Jack does eat wheat in some form or another daily). Even though he’s 4½, I feel very strongly about talking to him about matters related to his life. One morning I pulled my little dude aside and said, “We want your tummy to feel better, right?” He gave me a nod. “And you know that I want to do whatever I can to help you feel better, right?” Another nod. “I think that foods that contain wheat, like breads, pasta, pretzels, cookies, and cakes are making your tummy hurt.” He said, “I don’t want to eat those foods anymore, Mom.” Of course he didn’t want to eat those foods anymore, but he would still want them. I continued, “This is the deal, you can still have all of those foods but they will be special foods that I will give you. Mommy will do it with you.” With a slight smile, Jack added, “It’s like our special adventure, right Mom?”
And that it was. I took him to Whole Foods to pick out all the wheat-free products that he wanted to try. Although challenging at times (what do you expect?), we left without too many breakdowns. I must add that my extreme side wanted to start with the removal of gluten, but my practical side said, “Stef, you may not need to go there, so start simple and if you need to take it a step further you can.” I find that talking to myself often helps, even if out loud in public places!
We started the wheat-free challenge, and for the first few days there was no change. In fact I felt as though things worsened a bit (usually the body detoxing). Then, there seemed to be some improvement over the course of the next two weeks; however, not enough for my liking.
The next step was to try a gluten-free diet. I was ready to go there, but there was reason for me to believe that he could have celiac disease, the inability to digest the protein (gluten) present in many grains. I contacted his doctor and she suggested we screen him with a series of blood tests before he went off gluten. When screening a person for celiac, the most common tests taken are antibody tests (IgA and IgG). If a person is already on a gluten-free diet and has their blood taken, the test will be negative for the antibodies.
Jack was a champ during the test, and luckily the results were negative. No celiac! But the tummy blues kept on singing, and I was determined to turn that music off! So, back to my game plan. This is where I am now: I have identified additional culprits and continue to forge ahead to make my baby better! We have yet to see what this journey holds. It is a process, something that I do day in and day out with others, and at this moment it is hitting home.
Obstacles are put in our way for a reason (although sometimes I am not totally convinced of that). The tummy blues are solvable and manageable. Just take a step back, create an elimination game plan with the help of a healthcare provider, and follow the plan. I would love to tell you it is easy, but it is not. Clear goals, objectives, communication, and support will help you get from A to Z as smoothly as possible.
I will leave you with this, I recently had a discussion with a pediatrician colleague of mine and he reminded me to look at the mind and gut as one, a very important component to solving and managing the tummy blues.
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By Stefanie Sacks on May 12, 2009
I recently turned 40. And, against my better judgment (caused by the “I can’t believe I am 40-blues”) I decided to treat myself to the most delicious, amazing chocolate coconut cake in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD. Only major problem is that it was NOT gluten-free (GF). And, I have been pretty much 100% gluten-free for about 8 years now. If you are wondering, I came upon this cake before my GF days and ever since I haven’t been able to get it out of my mind.
I don’t drink. I eat cake. The hangover from this gluten-laced cake was so intense. My head hurt (major stuffy nose, eyes sensitive to light and headache), my joints ached, my stomach felt funky, I was exhausted and irritable. Not fun when you have a 7 month old and a 4 year old! I must add that this feeling was not just a “day-after” thing like most alcohol-related hangovers. It was more like a 2-3 “days-after” thing. I would have been better off downing a bottle of white!
Ok, so now you all know that I can’t tolerate gluten. I realized this many years ago when I felt worn down all the time (experiencing the above symptoms on a daily basis including bloating and sharp stomach pains). My acupuncturist recommended that I remove gluten from my diet. Seeing as though I was a professional chef (trained at The Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts) and early in my formal nutrition training (studying for my Masters in nutrition at Columbia University), you think I would have been able to figure this one out!
So, I removed the gluten and within a week I was feeling better. I knew how to cook GF so I just applied it. And finding the BEST GF products became my personal quest. I have had a private practice for close to 10 years now and because of my personal experience (as well as professional training), I have been able to guide all of my clients needing and wanting to go GF.
So, for all of your novices out there, here is the low-down on gluten…
WHEAT OR GLUTEN FREE?
Firstly, people often confuse wheat-free with gluten-free so let me add a little clarity to the situation.
Wheat-free means that a person avoids all foods containing wheat.
Why does a person avoid wheat? He/she has a sensitivity to wheat, typically in the form of gastrointestinal distress such as bloating, gas, constipation, diarrhea, reflux; skin issues such as rashes; and allergies/asthma such as congestion and wheezing.
If a person is symptomatic and eliminates wheat, typically after a week symptoms should start to improve. It can sometimes be dramatic.
What contains wheat? Foods containing wheat are anything made with white or whole wheat flour such as cookies, cakes, breads, tortillas, pizza, pasta, pancakes, waffles, most fried food, tempura, dumplings, wontons, etc.; anything made with bulghur such as tabouli; wheat berries; cous cous; sauces that are typically thickened with white flour; soy sauce (although San-J has a wheat-free option).
What are the other options? Don’t worry, there are plenty of great alternatives to wheat (spelt, kamut and all gluten-free grains—see below) containing foods including breads, tortillas, pasta, pancakes, waffles, etc. Just make sure to read labels. Most products that are wheat-free will say so on the package. Also, anything that says gluten-free is also wheat-free (even if it does not say so).
Gluten-free means that a person avoids all foods containing gluten.
What is gluten? Gluten is the general term used to describe the protein found in many grains including wheat, rye, barley, spelt, kamut, oat, triticale, semolina, pumpernickel and farro.
Why does a person avoid gluten? The absorptive surface of the small intestine is damaged by gluten resulting in malabsorption of carbohydrates, fat, protein, vitamins and minerals, all of which are needed for good health (Gluten Free Diet by Shelley Case). This condition, called Celiac Disease (or Celiac Sprue), is an autoimmune disease that can be very difficult to diagnose for symptoms can range from everything from diarrhea and constipation to chronic fatigue and depression.
Celiac disease is a serious disease that can be diagnosed through blood tests and intestinal biopsy. Should you suspect that you have, seek medical attention immediately. Please note that there is a large population of people who are sensitive to gluten though don’t have full blown celiac disease. These people also benefit from a gluten-free diet. Again, seek medical attention if you suspect you are sensitive to it.
What are the other options? Here is a list of gluten-free grains. Rice (all kinds but beware of rice pilafs and mixed grain rice mixes); buckwheat (if it says buckwheat soba make sure you look at ingredient list, for most times the buckwheat is mixed with wheat); teff; amaranth; quinoa; corn (as in polenta). These grains and other starchy foods such as beans, potatoes and tapioca are used to make all gluten-free products. There are many amazing products on the market that are gluten-free including breads, pastas, cookies, cakes, pancakes, waffles, etc. It is very important to read labels. Take note that a product that says “wheat –free” only is NOT necessarily gluten-free.
Living GF has totally changed my life. I feel alive and well every day (as well as you can feel with two small kids, working part-time and not enough rest). I have never formally been tested for a gluten allergy, no need. I know I feel better off it, so I just stay off of it. Except on major birthdays!
If you suspect a wheat or gluten sensitivity, I suggest first removing wheat. This may do the trick. If not, go down the GF road. I just contributed to a book, The Source, Unleash Your Natural Energy, Power Up Your Health and Feel 10 Years Younger by Dr. Woodson Merrell and Kathy Merrell. I created a 21-day plan and 70 recipes, all of which are nutritious, delicious (if I must say so myself) and GLUTEN FREE!
Feel free to e-mail me any and all questions! sbs@stefaniesacks.com
Some amazing GF resources/products are:
Resources
www.celiac.com
www.glutenfreediet.ca
www.celiacchicks.com
www.glutenfreepassport.com
Products (GF favorites!)
Yummies:
Pamelas cookies, dessert mixes, pancakes
Georges baked goods
Glutino
Glutano
Whole Foods (the store) gluten free bakery
Breads:
Food for Life (also rice torrillas)
Corn tortillas (found in freezer section of heath food market)
Whole Foods (the store) gluten free bakery
Make Your Own Bread
Bob’s Red Mill
www.glutenevolution.com
Pasta:
Tinkyada (other brands too but this rocks!)
Snack Foods:
Glutino
Glutano
Ener-G
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